Clothes holder or clasp for clothes-lines.



No. 684,680. Patented Oct. l5, mm.

.1. W. cm.

CLOTHES HOLDER OR CLASP FOR CLOTHES LINES.

(Application filed June 5, 1901.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT JOHN \VAL'lER ORIM, OF JOHNSTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.

CLOTHES HOLDER OR CLASP FOR CLOTHES=LINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 684,680, dated October 15, 1901.

Application filed June 5,1901. Serial No. 63,272. (No model.)

To ctZl whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN WALTER CRIM, a citizen of the United States, residing atJohnston, in the county of Edgefield and State of South Carolina, have invented new and useful V Improvements in Clothes Holders or Clasps for Clothes-Lines, of which the following isa specification.

My presentinvention relates to certain new and useful improvements in clothes holders or clasps for supporting clothes and other articles on a line; and it has for one of its objects to provide an article of this kind formed from a single piece of wire and constructed in such manner that it may be readily attached to and detached from a clothes-line at any point.

It is a further and important purpose of the invention to provide a holder or clasp of the class referred to having means for preventing the same from working loose from the line when in the act of supporting an article thereon.

Briefly and generally stated, the invention comprises a duplex holder or clasp formed from a single piece of wire having a central line-attaching loop and two clothes supporting or holding coils adapted to straddle the line and the article supported thereon, the free ends of said coils beings constructed in such manner as to be readily lifted over the line against the spring tension of the coils and acting when released to exert; a lateral pressure upon the article being supported at a point below the line, so as to prevent said article, as well as the holder or clasp, from working loose.

In order to enable others to fully understand, make, and use mysaid invention, I will now proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made for this purpose to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective View of a clasp or holder made according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective View showing the clasp or holder in operative position upon a line, and Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing the position of the central loop during the act of attaching the same to a line.

In the annexed drawings the reference-numeral 1 designates a central elongated lineattaching loop formed from a strand of wire, one-half of which is constructed in the form of a double loop, as shown at 2 and 3, the wire forming said double loop being bent laterally at right angles to the plane of the loop 1 and at a point intermediate the ends thereof to provide two oppositely-extending arms 4, each of which is bent into a spring-coil 5. These coils, as shown, are located on opposite sides of the central line-attaching loop 1 and lie on a plane midway thereof, but at right angles thereto. The free ends of the wire adjacent to the coils 5 terminate in outwardly and downwardly extending locking-arms 0, the wire of each arm being bent at its extreme end into an eye that extends at a right angle to the coils 5 and constitutes a shoulder 7, adapted when the arm 6 is lifted over the clothesdine 8, as shown in Fig. 3, to take under the same and securely hold the clasp theretol These lockingarms (J and shoulders 7 constitute important features of my inven tion, since they serve to prevent the springcoils from workingloose from the line, which would likely occur during a heavy wind when the clothes or other articles are suspended therefrom'if some locking means were not provided.

The peculiar construction of elongated loop 1 is also of importance, since it permits the spring-coils 5 to be lifted up above and free of the line in order to more readily cause said coils to straddle the line and the article thereon. Its construction also permits of the clasp or holder being easily and quickly attached to or detached from the line at any point, this being accomplished by simply spreading the double loop 2 3, as shown in Fig. 4, forcing the line therebetween until it is below the arms 4, and then turning the clasp or holder from its right-angled position, which it assumes during this operation, to a position parallel with the line.

The operation of my device will be readily understood from the foregoing description and following statement taken in connection with Fig. 3 of the drawings. The clothes or other articles 9 having been suspended from the line 8, the clasp or holder is moved up close thereto and raised above the line, so that the loops of the coils 5 when spread apart and lowered will be caused to straddle the line and article thereon. The locking-arm 6 is now lifted over the line, and its shouldered end when freed will, owing to the springy nature of the arm, exert a lateral pressure upon the article and cause the shoulder 7 to take under the line, thus preventing the coils from working loose and securely holding the clasp or holder in operative position until it is desired to remove the clothes or articles from the line, which is accomplished in an obvious manner.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A clasp or holder of the class described formed from a single piece of wire, and comprising a central loop adapted to engage a clothes-line, arms extending laterally from opposite sides of said loop and each arm carrying a spring-coil, said coils each terminating in an outwardly and downwardly extending locking-arm the free end of each arm normally lying in a plane taken horizontally through its adjacen coil.

2. A clasp or holder of the class described formed from a single piece of wire and comprising a central loop adapted to engage a clothes-line, arms extending laterally from said central loop, spring-coils forming a continuation of said arms, the free ends of said coils terminating in outwardly and downwardly extending locking-arms adapted to be lifted over the clothes-line, and a shoulder on lhe extreme end of each locking-arm adapted to take under the line, said shoulder being disposed in a planetaken horizontally through the spring-coils.

. 3. A clasp or holder of the class described, comprising a central elongated loop adapted to engage a clothes-line, arms extending laterally in opposite directions frc m opposite sides of said loop, spring-coils carried by said arms, and a locking-arm forming a continuation of each coil, the free end of each arm normally lying in a plane taken horizontally through the spring-coils and said ends of the said locking-arms being arranged to be lifted over the line so as to take under the same when the coils are in operative position upon the line.

4. A clasp or holder of the class described, comprising a central elongated loop adapted to engage a' clothes-line, arms extending laterally'in opposite directions from opposite sides of the loop and centrally thereof, springcoils carried by said arms, a spring lockingarm forming a continuation of each coil, and a lateral shoulder on the end of each lockingarm, said shoulders-normally lying in a plane taken horizontally through the spring-coils but disposed outward from the latter.

5. A clasp or holder of the class described formed from a single strand of wire and comprising a central elongated split loop adapted to engage a clothes-line, arms extending laterally from opposite sides of said loop and at a point intermediate the ends thereof, the free ends of said arms being bent into springcoils and said coils being arranged at right angles to the central elongated loop and disposed centrally thereof, the maximum diameter of said elongated loop being greater than the maximum diameter of the coils.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN XVALTER CRIM.

Witnesses:

J. GRANVILLE MEYERS, Jr., GEO. W. REA. 

